Electronic Government
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the volume and success of phishing emails purporting to come from Government sites. [151811]
Miss Chloe Smith: The Government takes cyber security extremely seriously which is why we are investing £650 million over four years to respond to threats from cyberspace and bolster the UK's cyber defences.
We do not keep statistics centrally of how many phishing messages purport to come from Government sites. Millions are sent via the Internet every month. HMRC recently published an assessment of the number of new phishing websites set up at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2013/level-tax-playing-field.pdf
Action Fraud, the UK's national fraud and internet crime reporting centre, has been enhanced to provide a reporting mechanism for online fraud including phishing. In addition, the Government supports initiatives such as Get Safe Online:
www.getsafeonline.org
to provide information and advice to people on how to avoid becoming a victim of phishing attacks.
Government Procurement Card
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what guidance or instructions have been issued to staff in (a) his Department and (b) its arm's length bodies about the timing of the publication of data relating to spend over (i) £25,000 and (ii) £500 using the Government Procurement Card. [141492]
Mr Maude: Guidance has been published in the HM Treasury's website:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/government_spend280211.pdf
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Pay
Priti Patel: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what criteria are used in (a) his Department and (b) each public body for which he is responsible to determine which officials receive bonus payments. [151126]
Mr Maude: Since 2010-11 the Government have restricted performance related payments for senior civil servants to the top 25% of performers (from 65% in previous years), saving the taxpayer around £15 million.
In my Department and the public bodies for which I am responsible, the criteria used to determine which officials receive end of year bonus payments are based on annual individual performance following relative assessment against one's peers and drawing from the feedback of Ministers where appropriate.
Individual officers within my Department and each public body are also eligible for in-year bonus payments which reward and recognise exceptional, significant or valuable achievements outside of an officer's agreed objectives.
Suicide
Ian Paisley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people committed suicide in the UK in 2012. [152947]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Glen Watson, dated April 2013:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many people committed suicide in UK in 2012. (152947)
Figures are only available for deaths registered by 31 December 2011. In 2011 there were 6,045 suicides registered in the UK.
ONS reports suicide statistics using the number of deaths registered rather than deaths that occurred in each calendar year. In England and Wales all suicides are certified by a coroner following an inquest. The death cannot be registered until the inquest is completed, which can take many months or even years. ONS is not notified that a death has occurred until it is registered, unless the coroner adjourns an inquest while awaiting prosecution in a higher court. The latest statistical bulletin showed that the median registration delay for suicides was 158 days in England and Wales in 2011.
In Northern Ireland all suicides are certified by a coroner, and cannot be registered until the coroner has completed an investigation. The median registration delay for suicides was 157 days in Northern Ireland in 2011.
In Scotland a death must be registered within eight days. The Procurator Fiscal has a duty to investigate all sudden, suspicious, accidental, unexpected or unexplained deaths and any death occurring in circumstances that give rise to serious public concern, and a Fatal Accident Inquiry may follow. If the results of toxicological tests or a post mortem are not yet known, the cause of death can be given as “unascertained, pending investigations”, and the actual cause of death will be entered at a later date. Therefore National Records of Scotland (NRS) receive notification of suicides more quickly than ONS. In 2011 the average registration delay for suicides in Scotland was just seven days, although the death may not have been registered as a suicide initially.
Figures for suicides in the United Kingdom, England and Wales for deaths registered between 1981 and 2011 are published
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annually on the ONS website. The latest statistical bulletin also includes analysis of the impact of registration delays on UK suicide statistics:
www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/all-releases.html?definition=tcm%3A77-29400
Figures for suicides in Scotland for deaths registered between 1974 and 2011 are available from the General Register Office for Scotland's website:
http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/theme/vital-events/deaths/suicides/index.html
Figures for suicides in Northern Ireland for deaths registered between 1970 and 2011 are available from the Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency website:
http://www.nisra.gov.uk/demography/default.asp31.htm
Termination of Employment
Priti Patel: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many officials in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies have left that body due to (i) resignation, (ii) retirement, (iii) redundancy, (iv) transferral to another public sector post and (v) another reason in each of the last five years. [147943]
Mr Maude: The following table sets out figures for staff leaving the Cabinet Office and its non-departmental public bodies:
| Cabinet Office main Department | |||||
| Leaving reason | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 |
| Cabinet Office NDPBs | |||||
| Leaving reason | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 |
Travel
Priti Patel: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) how many officials in his (a) Department and (b) its non-departmental public bodies travelled on (i) domestic and (ii) international flights in each of the last five years; in which class categories; at what total cost; and what the monetary value was of the 20 highest airfare charges in each such year; [152524]
(2) how many officials in the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office travelled on (a) domestic and (b) international flights in each of the last five years; in which class categories; at what total cost; and what the monetary value was of the 20 highest airfare charges in each such year; [152528]
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(3) how many officials in his (a) Department and (b) its non-departmental public bodies stayed in hotels in (i) the UK and (ii) every other country during the last five years; at what total cost; and what the monetary value was of the 20 highest such hotel expenses in each such year; [152548]
(4) how many officials in the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office stayed in hotels in (a) the UK and (b) every other country during the last five years; at what total cost; and what the monetary value was of the 20 highest such hotel expenses in each such year. [152552]
Mr Maude: To drive up efficiency this Government have established a new central contact for travel arrangements and an online booking system.
As was the case under the previous Administration, officials may travel on departmental business. Those travelling on Government business should always consider the business case for their travel and work to minimise unnecessary expenditure.
Since the general election, this Government have significantly increased the transparency around how we
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spend public money, including on travel. Details of overseas travel by all Ministers are published quarterly, alongside all spend by Departments over £25,000 and over £500 on Government Procurement Cards. We are exploring how we can extend our transparency arrangements to cover senior officials' travel.
Communities and Local Government
Consultants
Mr Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department and its arm's length bodies have saved on (a) consultancy costs and (b) contingent labour since May 2010. [147480]
Brandon Lewis: My Department and its arm’s length bodies have made significant reductions to spending on consultancy costs and contingent labour, illustrating the scope for sensible savings in the public sector.
| Consultancy costs | |||
| £ million | |||
| 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | |
| * Methodological notes: 1. The figure for 2009-10 consultancy spending by arm’s length bodies is as given in the answer of 14 July 2010, Official Report, column 756W, in turn, which was based on the 2009-10 Public Sector Procurement Expenditure Survey. Spending from 2010-11 is based on general ledger basis, rather than the public sector procurement expenditure survey. 2. Subsequently, a number of these bodies have been abolished, and figures are not available for the period from 2010-11 up to their abolition. That said, abolished organisations are, of course, no longer spending taxpayers' money. 3. Overall, our arm’s length bodies reform is on track to deliver expected running costs of £231 million over the spending review period and since May 2010, 11 bodies have closed and two transferred to other Government Departments, up to the end of 2011-12. Of these administrative savings £173 million relate to bodies which have closed. In addition, the Government offices for the regions have also been abolished. 4. We received a nil return from the Building Regulations Advisory Committee. | |||
For the core Department, the bulk of the 2010-11 spending on consultancy costs was contractually committed under the last Administration, including consultancy on the last Administration's failed FireControl programme.
Contingent labour has been interpreted as temporary and agency staff; use of such staff for short-term or specialist work can be better value for money than hiring staff on permanent contracts.
| £ million | |||
| 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | |
The bulk of the arm’s length body spending is by the Audit Commission (£6.7 million in 2011-12), reflecting its outsourcing to external audit contractors.
Correspondence
John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the references, dates and subject matters are of letters written by Ministers in his Department to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Yardley since 1 February 2013. [152787]
Brandon Lewis: Since 1 February 2013, DCLG Ministers have written 10 letters to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Yardley. References, dates and subject matters are in the following table:
| DCLG Ref | Your ref | Letter date | Subject |
|
Social housing: Role of designated persons in complaints handling | |||
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|
Proposals for moving the date of local elections to the same date as European parliamentary elections in 2014 | |||
Fire Services
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of chief fire officers opposed to proposals to permit the spinning out of fire brigades from fire authorities. [153127]
Brandon Lewis: The Government have made no such assessment. All decisions on service delivery are made by individual fire and rescue authorities. I have set out my position on supporting locally-led mutuals in my answer on 7 March 2013, Official Report, column 1121W.
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will place in the Library all responses to the letter sent by his Department dated 21 November 2012 as part of a pre-consultation about proposals to permit the spinning out of fire and rescue services from fire authorities. [153128]
Brandon Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 18 March 2013, Official Report, columns 476-77W.
In addition I have set out my position on mutuals in my answer on 7 March 2013, Official Report, column 1121W, and I also refer the hon. Member to the copy of my letter deposited in the Library of the House further to the answer of 22 April 2013, Official Report, column 579W.
High Street Review
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many of the actions recommended by the Portas Review have been taken forward by his Department. [153118]
Mr Prisk: The Mary Portas Review made 28 recommendations about what Government, local authorities, businesses and communities could each do to help high streets to be vibrant and successful. The Government published our response to the Portas Review on 30 March 2012, accepting 27 of the 28 recommendations. There are many success stories of how communities are now developing innovative solutions to develop their high streets. We published an update in our “Future of the High Street” on 25 March at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-future-of-high-streets
In addition, I have established the Future High Streets Forum. The Forum brings together leaders across retail, property, business, academics, voluntary sector, civil society and Government to better understand the competition town centres across the country face and to drive forward new ideas and policies to help revive the high street. Full details of the Future High Street Forum can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/policy-advisory-groups/future-high-streets-forum
Homelessness
Mr Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much has been spent by his Department on preventing and tackling homelessness in each of the last five years. [152964]
Mr Prisk: The following table sets out the total amount of Homelessness Prevention Grant funding allocated to local authorities over the last five years.
| Preventing homelessness funding | |
| Local authorities | £ |
The Homelessness Prevention Grant totals provided above are the baseline figures and exclude funding that has previously been rolled into the grant to cover local court desk provision and under-occupancy and tenancy fraud and additional funding provided in year.
On top of the baseline grant we provided an additional £32,180,342 over two years (2009-10 and 2010-11) to help authorities meet homelessness pressures in their area and in 2011-12, we provided an additional £18,620,000 for authorities to tackle single homelessness. More recently we invested an additional £1,700,000 over two years (2012-13 to 2013-14) in a new scheme to support local authorities to deliver a ‘Gold Standard' homelessness prevention service.
We have also provided £17,358,000 in 2009-10 and £19,000,002 in 2011-12 to help authorities prevent repossessions.
We are also providing £42,500,000 capital funding under the Homelessness Change programme over three years (2011-12 to 2014-15) which falls under the Affordable Homes programme.
From the 1 April 2012, affordable housing funding for London has been devolved to the Mayor of London. This includes £12,760,000 capital funding for the Homelessness Change programme.
Mr Hepburn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many people aged (a) between 16 and 24 and (b) over 24 in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the
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North East and (iv) the UK have been accepted as homeless in each of the last five years; [152965]
(2) how many people in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) south Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK have been recorded as homeless in each of the last five years; [153001]
(3) what estimate he has made of the number of homeless young people in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b)
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South Tyneside,
(c)
the North East and
(d)
the UK in each of the last five years. [159000]
Mr Prisk: The following table shows the number of homelessness acceptances of households in England and by Gateshead and South Tyneside councils in each year from 2005, broken down by age category and by the two priority need categories that relate specifically to young people.
| Number of households accepted(1) as owed a main homelessness duty during the year: 2005 to 2012 | ||||||
| By applicant's age | By priority need category | |||||
| Year | Aged 16-24 | Over 24 | Total | Applicant aged 16 or 17 years old | Applicant formerly “in care”, and aged 18 to 20 years old | |
| (1) Households eligible under homelessness legislation, found to be unintentionally homeless and in a priority need category, and consequently owed a main homelessness duty (2) Figures were not collected. (3) Not reported by the local authority. Source: DCLG P1E Homelessness returns (quarterly) | ||||||
The Ministerial Working Group on Homelessness's second report ‘Making every contact count’, focuses on preventing homelessness and stresses the importance of supporting vulnerable young people to make a successful transition to adulthood. It champions a model of a ‘positive youth accommodation pathway' for those who cannot stay within the family network or are leaving care and we are now working with authorities and voluntary sector organisations to promote the pathway. The report can be obtained from the Department's website at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/making-every-contact-count-a-joint-approach-to-preventing-homelessness
We are investing £470 million over four years (2011-12 to 2014-15) on homelessness prevention and also invested an additional £1.7 million over two years (2012-13 to 2013-14) in a new scheme to support local authorities deliver a ‘Gold Standard’ homelessness prevention service to stem future increases in statutory homelessness and rough sleeping.
Housing
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how much has been top-sliced from local government funding in each region of the UK to fund the new homes bonus in each year since the scheme began; and how much has been returned to local authorities in each region of the UK in new homes bonus payments each year; [152465]
(2) how much was top-sliced from the funding given to each local authority to fund the new homes bonus in each year since its introduction; and how much each local authority received through the new homes bonus in each such year. [152620]
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Mr Prisk [holding answer 22 April 2013]:The full amount of the new homes bonus for 2011-12 was met from Department for Communities and Local Government funding, with no local government top-slice. For each of the years 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15, £250 million was allocated to the new homes bonus from Department for Communities and Local Government funding. Funding beyond these levels comes from Formula Grant.
In 2012-13, £176 million was transferred from Formula Grant to fund the new homes bonus. In 2013-14, £418 million is being transferred. This funding is transferred prior to the calculation of formula funding. The amount of grant that has been top-sliced at an authority or regional level is therefore not available. The Local Government Finance settlement does not operate on a regional basis.
Allocations of new homes bonus by local authority have been placed in the Library of the House at the time of announcing final allocations in each year. This Department no longer publishes statistics at a regional level, I refer the hon. Member of 18 September 2012, Official Column, columns 32-33WS. The new homes bonus does not operate on a regional basis.
Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing
David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will make it his policy to guarantee a tenancy agreement allowing pet ownership for those wanting to downsize due to changes to housing benefit. [152462]
Mr Prisk: Most social landlords set out their pet policies in their tenancy agreements and will allow residents to keep pets where it is appropriate to do so. The circumstances in which pets may be kept is however properly for landlords to determine locally, taking account of the views of their tenants, rather than a matter for prescription by central Government.
Housing: Carbon Emissions
Martin Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to his Department's consultation on revision of Part L of Building Regulations, March 2012, what assessment he has made of the effect on (a) the heat pump market, (b) taxation levels, (c) jobs and (d) progress towards the UK's carbon dioxide reductions targets of reducing the annual carbon dioxide saved from new homes from 23 to 8 per cent. [152871]
Mr Foster: An assessment of carbon dioxide savings, the regulatory impact on business and competition issues were included in the impact assessment published alongside last year's consultation on revisions to Part L of the Building Regulations in England. This can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/8390/2076716.pdf
Following the Budget commitment to provide zero carbon homes from 2016, the Government will announce our decision on changes to Part L of the Building Regulations by May 2013. A final proposal stage impact assessment will be published.
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Immigration
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate the research commissioned by his Department entitled, Identifying social and economic push and pull factors for migration to the UK by Bulgarian and Romanian nations made of the annual number of future immigrants from Romania and Bulgaria. [152497]
Mr Prisk [holding answer 22 April 2013]:Further to the written statement of 10 October 2011, Official Report, column 3WS, the report has been available in the public domain since October 2011.
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120104120950/http://communities.gov.uk/archived/general-content/corporate/researcharchive/volume8immigration/
This analysis was commissioned by the last Administration and should be treated with some caution; the research document was not peer-reviewed; and some of the groupings used in the analysis contain small numbers that are based on a sample survey. The right hon. Member will wish to draw his own conclusions on its contents.
Local Government Finance
Mr Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of (a) the criteria by which the future financial settlement for local authorities and English regions should be determined and (b) the desirability or otherwise of replacing the Barnett Formula by a needs-based allocation of government finances that takes into account variable divisions of expenditure between the regions of England. [151665]
Brandon Lewis: The 2013-14 Local Government Finance settlement provides information on the basis of the calculation of funding for English local authorities, the first under the new business rates retention scheme. The settlement marks a fundamental change in the way in which local government is funded so councils that strive to grow their business rates will find themselves rewarded with increased revenue. We have abolished regional government in England, and the local government finance system operates on a local, not regional basis. The defunct government office regions are arbitrary lines on a map.
As set out in the coalition programme for Government, the Government recognises concerns expressed about the system of devolution funding. However, at this time the priority remains the reduction of the deficit left by the last Administration and therefore any consideration of change to the system must await the stabilisation of the public finances.
Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information his Department holds on the (a) total level of debt and (b) annual payments on debt interest per local authority in England (i) excluding and (ii) including the Housing Revenue Account in the most recent year for which figures are available. [152478]
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Mr Prisk: I have today placed in the Library of the House a table showing, for each local authority in England:
(a) total external debt as at 31 March 2012;
(b) total external interest payments and interest payments where directed to the Housing Revenue Account for 2012-13.
These data are as reported to the Department for Communities and Local Government on the annual capital outturn return and the revenue account budget form. DCLG does not hold separate debt figures for the housing revenue account. The figures for interest payments directed to the housing revenue account can include interest paid in respect of internal borrowing from the authority's other accounts. DCLG does not hold information on interest payments charged to the housing revenue account prior to 2012-13.
Local Government: ICT
Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he will bring forward measures to allow town and parish councils to (a) make online payments and (b) send agendas electronically. [152866]
Brandon Lewis: Having consulted on proposals to use a legislative reform order to remove the statutory obstacles to parish councils making online payments, we expect to announce shortly how we intend to proceed. We also intend to announce how, through secondary legislation, we will remove any doubts about councils' ability to send agendas electronically.
Lost Property
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he could provide a list of the property stolen in his Department since May 2010; and what the value of such stolen property was. [135442]
Brandon Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 18 December 2012, Official Report, column 694W.
There are were nine other assorted items stolen in that stated period, worth £770.
Mortgages
Mr Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many private residential mortgage accounts for properties in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK were in arrears for more than 90 days in each of the last five years; [152960]
(2) how many private residential mortgage accounts for properties in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK were in arrears in each of the last five years. [152961]
Mr Prisk:
The Department does not produce statistics on the number of mortgages that are in arrears. The Council of Mortgage Lenders does, however, publish statistics on the number of UK mortgages that are in arrears as part of its Regulated Mortgage Survey, which can be found on their website. It does not, however,
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publish separate arrears figures for geographical areas within the UK, such as regions, parliamentary constituencies or local authority areas.
Mortgage arrears are calculated in terms of the balance in arrears and how many monthly payments this represents. At the end of 2012, 97,200 UK mortgages were between three to six monthly payments in arrears. This is its lowest level since 2008, and 30,500 fewer mortgages in arrears than the peak seen in the first quarter of 2009.
At the end of 2012, there were a total of 215,700 UK mortgages more than three monthly payments in arrears. This is lower than any of the four years preceding it, and significantly fewer than the peak of 275,800 in 2009.
| Total UK mortgages more than three months in arrears at end of year | |
The Government are helping homeowners in difficulty—including those with high levels of arrears—by tackling the record deficit inherited from the last Administration to prevent a rapid increase in interest rates hitting struggling households.
We are committed to working closely with lenders, debt advice agencies and local authorities to ensure that repossession is only ever a last resort and that effective help and advice for homeowners at risk of repossession is available.
www.gov.uk/repossession/get-advice
outlines the options available to households.
A range of Government support is in place to help homeowners at risk of repossession. Targeted support includes the Department for Communities and Local Government funded £221 million Mortgage Rescue Scheme, aimed at vulnerable homeowners at risk of repossession which has been improved to deliver better value for money for the taxpayer. Applications for the scheme are considered by local authorities across England as part of their duties to prevent homelessness. Support for mortgage interest, paid as part of DWP benefits, remains available to help eligible out of work households meet their monthly interest payments.
The Department announced £20 million funding for preventing repossessions in February last year which provides additional options for local housing authorities to tackle repossessions in their local area. South Tyneside council received £92,128 for a Preventing Repossessions Fund which can be used to offer small interest free loans or grants to households at risk of repossession to address immediate short-term financial difficulties and avoid households becoming homeless due to mortgage possession.
Non-Domestic Rates: Shops
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effects of business rates on independent shops. [153055]
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Brandon Lewis: Our commitment to hold business rate rises to the annual retail prices index cap means there has been no real terms increase in business rates since 1990. In addition, we have also postponed the revaluation of business premises from 2015 to 2017 to provide certainty and stability; doubled the level of small business rate relief for a further year (the whole of 2013-14); made it easier to claim small business rate relief; and given authorities powers to provide their own business rates discounts, as they see fit.
Pay
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what allowances and subsidies in addition to salary were available to officials in (a) his Department and (b) its non-departmental public bodies in each of the last five years; and what the monetary value was of such payments and allowances in each such year. [148039]
Brandon Lewis: A full breakdown of the monetary value of each type of allowance and subsidy paid in addition to salary for the last two financial years will be placed in the Library of the House.
For information on allowances and subsides in addition to salary for the period 2009-10 and 2010-11, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 8 March 2012, Official Report, column 861W, where the information requested was placed in the Library of the House.
For allowances and subsides in addition to salary for the financial period 2008-09, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 25 October 2010, Official Report, column 87W.
The Department for Communities and Local Government does not hold information centrally on allowances and subsidies made to staff within its agencies prior to 2009-10.
The Department is reviewing its allowances and subsidies as part of wider work to review its overall pay structure.
Based on current estimates, the DCLG Group is reducing its annual running costs by 41% in real terms by 2014-15. This equates to net savings of at least £532,000,000 over this spending review period.
Our departmental audited annual accounts for the core Department show that total staff costs fell from £216 million in 2009-10 to £109 million in 2011-12; this is an annual saving of £107,000,000.
Planning Obligations
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what plans he has to review the effect of the removal of the threshold to one house for section 106 agreements following the introduction of the National Planning Framework in 2012; [148130]
(2) how many local authorities have received no single-dwelling planning applications after removing the minimum five-house threshold for section 106 agreements following the introduction of the National Planning Framework in 2012; [148131]
(3) how many local authorities have reduced the threshold to one house for section 106 agreements following the introduction of the National Planning Framework in 2012; [148132]
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(4) which organisations he consulted before removing the minimum five-house threshold for section 106 agreements in the National Planning Framework in 2012. [148133]
Nick Boles [holding answer 18 March 2013]:The draft National Planning Policy Framework was subject to full public consultation and included local workshop events across the country and many ministerial meetings with interested parties, on the draft framework. The Government considered all consultation responses before producing the final version of the framework.
Information on planning applications made to local planning authorities is not centrally held; they are a matter for the local planning authority unless are appealed.
We have introduced reforms to help developers and landowners renegotiate economically unrealistic affordable housing requirements in section 106 agreements, and to deliver more private and affordable housing than would otherwise be the case.
Any affordable housing requirements in section 106 planning obligations are sought, negotiated and applied locally by the local planning authority. The National Planning Policy Framework is absolutely clear that local planning authorities must have regard to economic viability in their consideration of section 106 obligations.
As announced on 15 April, my department is currently consulting on proposals to exempt self-build from the community infrastructure levy. We are open to representations on the broader issues of planning contributions and self-build.
Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012
Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department has taken to implement the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012. [153112]
Brandon Lewis: Local spending decisions are for local authorities themselves, but central Government have a significant role in creating the conditions for effective local procurement.
Our approach has been to influence and encourage the sector to streamline their procurement functions and open up tenders to a wider range of potential suppliers, including small and medium sized enterprises as well as voluntary and community groups.
To help local authorities acquire the skills to better commission services we are working with the Cabinet Office and the Local Government Association to provide accessible learning opportunities on commissioning skills for all council officers. We will also shortly be announcing the winners of the “Best councils to do business with” contest, which will identify those local authorities that are doing the most to open up their procurement practices to small business, including voluntary and community groups, and will then share their good practice throughout the sector.
The Department continues to support the implementation of the Community Right to Challenge. The Right enables voluntary and community groups to
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put forward proposals to deliver local government services, which must be considered by the local authority. An expression of interest under the Right must include information on how the proposals will promote the social, economic and environmental well-being of the area and this must be reflected in any procurement exercise carried out as a result.
In addition, the Cabinet Office has written directly to local authorities to raise awareness of the new Act.
Sickness Absence
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many officials in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies have had (i) fewer than five days, (ii) five to 10 days, (iii) 10 to 15 days, (iv) 15 to 20 days, (v) 20 to 25 days, (vi) 25 to 50 days, (vii) 50 to 75 days, (viii) 75 to 100 days, (ix) 100 to 150 days, (x) 150 to 200 days, (xi) more than 200 days, (xii) more than three months, (xiii) more than six months and (xiv) more than one year on paid sick leave (A) consecutively and (B) in total in each of the last five years. [148001]
Brandon Lewis: I have placed a table in the Library of the House for the central Department and its three executive agencies for short-term and long-term absence. Data for the Department's Non-Departmental Public Bodies are not held centrally. The full information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The core Department's absence rate in 2012 was 6.1 average working days lost per member of staff. This is lower than the civil service average of 7.6 days and below the private sector average of 7.1 (based on the CIPD20 measure).
I also refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 15 April 2013, Official Report, columns 222-23W, on the steps we are taking to reduce such absence.
Social Rented Housing
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2013, Official Report, column 477W, on social rented housing, whether mortgage providers have been informed of his Department's initiative to bring empty homes back into use. [151810]
Mr Prisk: Full details of all the empty homes initiatives were made available on the Department's website as they were announced:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/funding-boost-will-help-stop-the-rot-of-empty-homes
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/community-groups-to-bring-2-000-empty-homes-back-to-life-with-government-help
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/145-million-boost-to-help-communities-tackle-empty-homes
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/first-cash-for-neglected-neighbourhoods-to-bring-empty-homes-back-into-use
Officials from the Department for Communities and Local Government regularly meet with the Council of Mortgage Lenders to discuss a range of matters.
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Prime Minister
Travel
Priti Patel: To ask the Prime Minister (1) how many officials in No. 10 Downing Street travelled on (a) domestic and (b) international flights in each of the last five years; in which class categories; at what total cost; and what the monetary value was of the 20 highest airfare charges in each such year; [152540]
(2) how many officials in No. 10 Downing Street stayed in hotels in (a) the UK and (b) every other country during the last five years; at what total cost; and what the monetary value was of the 20 highest such hotel expenses in each such year. [152564]
Mr Maude: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
The Prime Minister’s Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.
To drive up efficiency this Government have established a new central contact for travel arrangements and an online booking system.
As was the case under the previous Administration, officials may travel on departmental business. Those travelling on Government business should always consider the business case for their travel and work to minimise unnecessary expenditure.
Since the general election, this Government have significantly increased the transparency around how we spends public money, including on travel. Details of overseas travel by all Ministers are published quarterly, alongside all spend by Departments over £25,000 and over £500 on Government Procurement Cards. We are exploring how we can extend our transparency arrangements to cover senior officials' travel.
Church Commissioners
Archbishop of Canterbury
Miss McIntosh: To ask the honourable Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners what issues the new Archbishop of Canterbury intends to prioritise during the early stages of his ministry. [147419]
Sir Tony Baldry: Early indications as to the priorities of the Archbishop can be seen in a number of ways such as the appointment of new staff at Lambeth, the first ever woman chaplain to an Archbishop of Canterbury and a director of reconciliation. Other priorities clearly include his concerns for public spiritual renewal, peace building and reconciliation, as well as tackling economic deprivation and support for marginalised communities.
Business, Innovation and Skills
Business: ICT
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the movement of digital products to cloud computing services on small businesses; [153139]
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(2) what assessment his Department has made of steps taken to encourage the adoption of technology by small businesses; [153146]
(3) what representations his Department has made to large software companies on improving accessibility of technology to small businesses; and what assessment his Department has made of the effect of pricing plans for single- and multi-user licences on the adoption of technology by small businesses. [153147]
Michael Fallon: In developing the forthcoming information economy strategy, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is considering the impact and opportunities new technologies offer UK businesses. This has included dialogue with the sector about helping companies, understand the opportunities they can access in the fields of big data analytics, cloud computing and the online economy. Following completion of a pilot, we are working with the sector to develop a collaborative programme to encourage small businesses to transact online and make greater use of ICT to drive growth.
As announced in the Budget, the Government intend to provide small businesses in England with £30 million of growth vouchers to help them overcome barriers to growth, which may include the adoption of new technology. No assessment has been made of pricing plans for software licences as these are matters for commercial negotiation. The move to cloud based digital services provides small businesses with an opportunity to reduce capital costs and adopt a pay-as-you-go model.
Exports: Government Assistance
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether an application for approval under EU state aid rules has been submitted in relation to the Export Refinancing Facility. [152909]
Michael Fallon: No application has yet been made.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills by what date he expects the Export Refinancing Facility to be operational. [152910]
Michael Fallon: The Export Refinancing Facility is still being developed; at this stage it is not possible to predict when it will become operational.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether an application for approval under EU state aid rules has been submitted in relation to the Direct Lending Scheme administered by UK Export Finance. [152911]
Michael Fallon: No application has been made.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills by what date he expects the Direct Lending Scheme administered by UK Export Finance to be operational. [152912]
Michael Fallon: The Direct Lending Scheme is still being developed. At this stage it is not possible to predict when the facility will become operational.
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GCE AS-level
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which universities currently use AS levels as a means of assessing applicant potential during admission decisions. [145850]
Elizabeth Truss [holding answer 4 March 2013]:I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Education.
We know that universities use a range of information and evidence about applicants for admissions purposes. Even within individual universities, there may be a variety of approaches between subjects. Changes to the AS and A-levels mean that some universities may need to make changes to admissions processes. However, Ofqual's consultation on A-level reform found that for many universities, the removal of AS would not have a major impact on selection processes.
Staff
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 17 April 2013, Official Report, column 492W, on senior civil servants, how many staff have (a) resigned, (b) taken voluntary early retirement and (c) taken long-term sick leave in each year since 2009. [152913]
Jo Swinson: In June 2009 the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) was merged with the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) to create the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS); therefore we only have access to data from this date.
The following table shows the number of staff who have (a) resigned, (b) taken voluntary early retirement and (c) taken long-term sick leave in each year.
| (a) Resigned | (b) Voluntary early retirement | (c) Long-term sick(1) | |
| (1) Defined as over 21 working days or 29 calendar days. Some long-term cases may over lap calendar years. Numbers given from when absence started. | |||
Health
22q Deletion Syndrome
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will adopt the national consensus document on the diagnosis and management of 22q deletion syndrome as NHS policy; and if he will make a statement. [152507]
Anna Soubry [holding answer 22 April 2013]:The commissioning of specialised services is the responsibility of NHS England.
NHS England have advised me that they will establish a Rare Diseases Advisory Group, which will be coordinated by the Highly Specialised Services Portfolio team in NHS England Medical Directorate. Clinical Reference Groups with patient and carer engagement have been
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established for congenital heart disease and for multi-system disorders. They will review the service specification in 2013-14 and will consider the national consensus document as part of their review. Consideration will also be given to whether any clinical access policies are required in order to ensure excellent care for the complex issues relating to 22q11 deletion syndrome.
Air Travel
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many officials in his (a) Department and (b) non-departmental public bodies travelled on (i) domestic and (ii) international flights in each of the last five years; in which class categories; at what total cost; and what the monetary value was of the 20 highest airfare charges in each such year. [152534]
Dr Poulter: Information held by both the Department and its non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) where available for the fast five financial years 2008-09 to 2012-13 is in the following table. Responses have been provided for the years that each NDPB has been in existence. Where organisations have been unable to provide certain information, due to it not being held or because compilation would result in disproportionate cost, an entry of ‘Not Available’ has been declared. The six NDPBs were: NHS England, Care Quality Commission (CQC), Monitor, Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), and the Health Protection Agency (HPA).
HFEA and HPA are unable to provide information due to disproportionate cost.
The Department is unable to provide data on the number and class of traveller for all years.
| Total flight and top 20 costs | ||
| £ | ||
| Total cost | 20 highest fare cost | |
The CQC are unable to provide information on class of travel.
Details of CQC domestic, international travellers by year, total cost flight and 20 highest fares.
| Number of domestic travellers | Number of international travellers | Total cost (£) | 20 highest fare cost (£) | |
The HTA are unable to provide numbers and classification of travellers or the 20 highest costs.
| Total costs of air travel. | |
| Total cost (£) | |
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Number of domestic travellers for 2012-13 is 22.
Number of international travellers for 2012-13 is seven.
Total costs for air travel for 2012-13 is £13,658.
Cost of top 20 air travel is £10,949
There is no categorisation of class of travel given.
Departmental information relates to flights captured by third party travel management systems (approximately 92% of transactions) and costs incurred by individuals and reclaimed through the internal Business Management System (BMS) (approximately 8% of transactions) that was introduced in July 2008. This has resulted in only nine months data being available for 2008-09 via BMS.
Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to reduce the cost to the public purse of use of the NHS to treat illnesses traced to alcohol abuse. [152466]
Anna Soubry: The Government's Alcohol Strategy, published on 23 March 2012, brings together the Government's approach to reducing the incidence of alcohol-related disease and crime.
The strategy includes a range of actions such as:
proposals to tackle the availability of cheap alcohol;
an industry pledge through the responsibility deal to take 1 billion units out of the market by 2015;
building on the introduction of a ring-fenced public health grant to local authorities in England through greater use of brief interventions, specialised alcohol treatment, and alcohol liaison nurses within hospital emergency departments; and
in England, we are funding an alcohol check within the NHS Health Check for adults aged between 40 and 74 for the first time from April 2013.
The Government sought views on a number of measures set out in the Alcohol Strategy, in a consultation published by the Home Office on 28 November, which concluded on 6 February. We will set out a response in due course.
Dame Sally Davies, the chief medical officer, will oversee a review of the alcohol guidelines to ensure they are based on the best possible evidence.
Public Health England (PHE) is the new Executive agency of the Department of Health with the role of supporting local authorities responsible for public health. PHE will provide data, evidence and support to local authorities and national health service partners to enable them to reduce the harmful impact from alcohol in local communities.
PHE will also encourage greater use of effective interventions, such as brief interventions, alcohol interventions in secondary NHS care and the treatment of dependent drinkers.
Anorexia
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many patients were treated in the NHS after presenting with anorexia nervosa in each of the last 10 years; [152861]
(2) what recent representations he has received from third sector organisations about the quality of anorexia nervosa care in the NHS; and if he will make a statement; [152862]
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(3) what recent steps he has taken to ensure that NHS trusts improve the experience of patients suffering from anorexia nervosa; [152863]
(4) what estimate he has made of the number of people suffering from anorexia nervosa who remain without treatment because (a) treatment is not available to them and (b) they are unwilling to be treated. [152876]
Norman Lamb: We do not collect statistics on the number of patients treated in the national health service for anorexia nervosa. However, numbers of finished admission episodes with a primary diagnosis of anorexia nervosa over the past 10 years are supplied in the following table. The number of episodes does not represent the number of patients, as an individual may be admitted to hospital on more than one occasion in any given year:
| A count of finished admission episodes with a primary diagnosis of Anorexia Nervosa for the years 2002-03 to 2011-12, activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector | |
| Finished Admission Episodes | |
| Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre | |
There have been representations from third sector organisations concerning eating disorder issues. Policy officials received a note from the eating disorder charity ‘beat’, enclosing the report ‘Costs of eating disorders in England: Economic impacts of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and other disorders, focussing on young people’ which they published jointly with Pro Bono Economics and launched in July 2012.
A search of the Department's ministerial correspondence database has identified one item of correspondence from a third sector organisation received since 1 April 2012 about the quality of anorexia nervosa care in the NHS.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) produced a clinical guideline on the core interventions in the treatment and management of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and related eating disorders in 2004 and this will be updated in 2014.
The guidelines give clear recommendations on the type of treatments that are available, and set out a structured pathway of care. NICE has also published information for the public that explains the guideline and sets out what people with eating disorders can expect from the NHS.
Responsibility for commissioning specialist in-patient eating disorders services (both adults and children) transferred to NHS England on 1 April 2013 and the NHS England has consulted on a national service specification against which it will commission these
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services. It is our expectation that this approach will result in better planning and co-ordination of specialised services, greater equity of access, care and outcomes for patients and a more pro-active and systematic approach to service development, research and innovation.
We have made no such estimate of the number of people suffering from anorexia nervosa who remain without treatment, for either reason.
Dementia
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the findings of the Social Care Institute for Excellence on black and minority ethnic people with dementia and their access to support and services, published in March 2011. [152593]
Norman Lamb: The Department has made no specific assessment of the findings of the March 2011 Social Care Institute for Excellence publication. In July 2011, the Department published an equalities action plan for the national dementia strategy. Local national health service and social care commissioners should consider the needs of their local population when commissioning services for people with dementia.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the differential incidence of dementia among older people of Irish birth or descent; and what steps he is taking to encourage or commission research into the awareness, needs and wishes of older Irish people with dementia and their carers. [152594]
Dr Poulter: The Department has not commissioned or evaluated research on these specific topics.
In March 2012, the Prime Minister's challenge on dementia announced that the combined value of the Department's National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), the Medical Research Council and the Economic and Social Research Council funding for research into dementia will increase from £26.6 million in 2009-10 to an estimated £66.3 million in 2014-15. This includes £22 million for dementia research projects announced in December 2012 following the NIHR themed call on dementia.
The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect—of human health, including dementia in relation to Irish people in England. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the scientific quality of the proposals made.
Drugs: Rehabilitation
Mr Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding his Department has allocated to drug addiction services in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England in each of the last three years. [152383]
Anna Soubry: Central Department of Health funding for the treatment of adult drug dependence in Coventry, the West Midlands and England in the last three years is set out in the following table. This money was allocated via the adult pooled treatment budget.
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| Central Department of Health funding for drug treatment in Coventry, the West Midlands and England for 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 | |||
| £ million | |||
| 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
In addition to these sums, £60 million nationally was provided by the Department in 2011-12 and 2012-13 to ensure offenders get access to drug treatment services. This was allocated according to the historic Home Office Drug Intervention Programme formula, but was distributed through the pooled treatment budget mechanism, supplementing the funding supplied direct to local drugs partnerships by the Home Office.
From April 2013, the central funding for drug treatment has been included in a wider ring-fenced public health grant. This grant, which amounts to £2.7 billion in 2013-14 and £2.8 billion in 2014-15, is issued to local authorities to support their new public health responsibilities. There is no further ring-fencing of drug and alcohol treatment money within the public health budget.
Drugs: Side Effects
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients have suffered from adverse reactions to drugs provided by the NHS in (a) each of the last five years and (b) 2013 to date; and how many such reactions have resulted in death. [152473]
Norman Lamb: Reports of ‘suspected’ adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are collected by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Commission for Human Medicines through the spontaneous reporting scheme, the Yellow Card scheme. The scheme collects suspected ADR reports from the whole of the United Kingdom in relation to all medicines and vaccines and does not distinguish between ADRs associated with drugs provided by the national health service and drugs received from other sources.
Between the 1 January 2008 and 31 March 2013 the MHRA has received a total of 132,374 United Kingdom spontaneous suspected ADR reports, 7,751 of these were associated with a fatal outcome. The following table provides a breakdown of these reports by year.
| Receipt year | Total number of ADR reports | Number of ADR fatal reports |
| (1) ADR reports for 2013 comprise reports received between the 1 January 2013 to the 31 March 2013 inclusively. | ||
It is important to note that the reporting of a suspected adverse reaction does not necessarily mean it is related to the drug. The reports are ‘suspicions’ of ADRs and have not been proven. Many factors have to be taken into account in assessing causal relationships including
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temporal association, the possible contribution of concomitant medication and the underlying disease being treated.
Hotels
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many officials in his (a) Department and (b) non-departmental public bodies stayed in hotels in (i) the UK and (ii) every other country during the last five years; at what total cost; and what the monetary value was of the 20 highest such hotel expenses in each such year. [152558]
Dr Poulter: Information held by both the Department and its non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) where available for the last five financial years 2008-09 to 2012-13 is contained in the following tables. Responses have been provided for the years that each NDPB has been in existence. Where organisations have been unable to provide certain information, due to it not being held or because compilation would result in disproportionate cost, an entry of ‘not available' has been declared.
The six NDPBs were: NHS England, Monitor, Care Quality Commission (CQC), Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), Human Tissue Authority (HTA) and Health Protection Agency (HPA).
HFEA and HPA are unable to provide information due to disproportionate cost.
The Department is unable to provide the number of guests who stayed in international or United Kingdom hotels.
Total cost and cost of top 20 hotels for Department were:
| £ | ||
| Total cost | 20 highest expenses | |
The CQC are unable to provide the number of guests who stayed in international or UK hotels or the cost of the top 20 hotels.
Total cost of hotels for CQC was:
| Total cost (£) | |
HTA are unable to provide the number of guests who stayed in international or UK hotels or the cost of the top 20 hotels.
Total cost of hotels for HTA was:
| Total cost (£) | |
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Monitor are unable to provide the number of guests who stayed in international or UK hotels or the cost of the top 20 hotels.
Total cost of hotels for Monitor was:
| Total cost (£) | |
Number of domestic guests 2011-12 was 370.
Number of international guests 2011-12 was three.
Total cost of hotels in 2011-12 was £250,891.
Cost of top 20 hotels in 2011-12 was £3,879.
Departmental information relates to hotels captured by third party travel management systems (approximately
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92% of transactions) and costs incurred by individuals and reclaimed through the internal Business Management System (BMS) (approximately 8% of transactions) that was introduced in July 2008. This has resulted in only nine months data being available for 2008-09 via BMS.
Liver Diseases
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS admissions for alcoholic liver disease there have been in (a) each of the last five years and (b) 2013 to date. [152470]
Anna Soubry: The following table contains a count of finished admission episodes with a primary diagnosis code of alcoholic liver disease for the whole years 2007-08 to 2011-12 and for April to December 2012.
It should be noted that these figures are not a count of people as the same person may have been admitted on more than one occasion in any given year.
| A count of finished admission episodes (FAEs)(1) with a primary diagnosis()of alcoholic liver disease(3) for the whole years 2007-08 to 2011-12(4) and for April to December 2012(5) | |
| FAEs | |
| (1 )Finished admissions episodes A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of inpatient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of inpatients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. (2 )Primary diagnosis The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and 7 prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital. (3 )ICD codes for alcoholic liver disease K70.0 Alcoholic fatty liver K70.1 Alcoholic hepatitis K70.2 Alcoholic fibrosis and sclerosis of liver K70.3 Alcoholic cirrhosis of liver K70.4 Alcoholic hepatic failure K70.9 Alcoholic liver disease, unspecified (4 )Assessing growth through time (inpatients) HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, changes in activity may be due to changes in the provision of care. (5 )Provisional Data The data are provisional and may be incomplete or contain errors for which no adjustments have yet been made. Counts produced from provisional data are likely to be lower than those generated for the same period in the final dataset. This shortfall will be most pronounced in the final month of the latest period, i.e. November from the (month 9) April to November extract. It is also probable that clinical data are not complete, which may in particular affect the last two months of any given period. There may also be errors due to coding inconsistencies that have not yet been investigated and corrected. Note: Data quality HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts in England and from some independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. Health and Social Care Information Centre liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre | |
Malnutrition
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients have left hospital malnourished in (a) each of the last five years and (b) 2013 to date. [152471]
Norman Lamb: The Department does not have figures regarding the number of patients leaving hospital malnourished; hospital episode statistics data allows the identification of conditions for which a patient is treated during their hospital stay, but does not identify whether they were malnourished, or suffered from any other condition, at the point of discharge from hospital.
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From this month, new patient led assessments will look at the quality of food and food services in hospitals providing national health service funded care. The new patient led assessments will specifically ask patients whether they received the meals they ordered and the result will contribute to the marking the hospital is given. The new assessments will look to make sure that hospitals hit the mark on food and drink, from a patient's point of view.
Good food, and ensuring patients receive the help they need to eat is an essential part of hospital care. There is a wealth of national guidance available to the NHS to ensure that excellent nutritional care is the norm.
Food and drink are one of the 12 areas of practice within the Essence of Care benchmarking system, which covers all aspects of fundamental care. This looks at screening and assessment of nutritional risk on initial contact, such as admission to hospital. In addition, guidance and toolkits to support the delivery of food in the NHS are available on the Hospital Caterers' Association website.
Many hospital wards across the country have introduced the ‘red tray’ scheme, whereby patients at risk of poor nutrition are identified for special attention. This initiative came from an Essence of Care action plan, and although not mandatory, is being widely used.
NHS: Fraud
Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate he has made of the benefit in (a) monetary and (b) other terms of his Department's counter-fraud activities in each of the last five years; [153130]
(2) how many full-time equivalent staff in his Department worked in counter-fraud activities in each of the last five years; [153131]
(3) how much his Department has spent on counter-fraud activities in each of the last five years; [153132]
(4) what data his Department (a) publishes about fraud and (b) collects but does not publish about fraud. [153133]
Dr Poulter: A dedicated Department of Health Counter Fraud Investigation Service (CFIS) commenced on 1 April 2010 to provide reactive investigation resource for internal departmental cases.
Records prior to April 2010 are not separately obtainable.
The information in the following data tables relates only to the reactive investigating service.
The value of fraud proven and/or identified in the Department is shown in the following table:
| Value of fraud proven/identified against the Department | |
| As at 1 April to 31 March each year | GBP (£) |
| (1) Approx. (2) All possible options including criminal (Proceeds of Crime) and civil, are considered as part of the financial recovery process. (3) Criminal mandate fraud attempt prevented. | |
The numbers of full-time equivalent staff in the Department who worked in CFIS were:
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| As at 1 April to 31 March each year | Full-time equivalent staff |
| (1) External supplier resource was used for investigation work in 2012-13. | |
The amount spent solely and specifically on counter-fraud investigation over this period was salary costs of the staff identified:
| As at 1 April to 31 March each year | GBP (£) |
| (1) Plus minor travel and subsistence | |
The Department is a member of the Cabinet Office led Fraud, Error and Debt group and in 2011-12 has implemented the group's programme of central Government anti-fraud activity. This included a staff fraud awareness survey; a fraud awareness week; Civil service learning anti-fraud e-learning for staff; and participation in national fraud initiative data matching exercise.
All senior civil service have had, under the departmental statement of internal control process, responsibility to guard against fraud. While we can give some specific numbers on fraud investigation spend and recovery, fraud prevention as a whole is an integral part of everyone's job and does not enable specific reporting on savings. Nor are the true results of fraud prevention activity identifiable.
All new starters at the Department are provided with counter fraud input and have to complete an on-line assessment as part of induction. Protection of public funds from fraud is integral to the Department's operational work, core processes and at strategic level via governance and internal controls.
With regard to data the Department collects and publishes, limited information is obtained and retained in accordance with appropriate statute and departmental policy. Fraud related data published externally are via the Cabinet Office and those data includes recovered/prevented losses as a result of fraud.
Internal CFIS management information consists of additional information to enable fraud investigations to be carried out. For example, it includes information about fraud allegations/referrals received and how they have been dealt with. The Department's audit and risk committee is provided with management information on a regular basis.
NHS: Labour Turnover
John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether data on staff turnover in surgical, nursing and managerial positions are used in monitoring the performance of NHS trusts. [153090]
Dr Poulter: The NHS Trust Development Authority uses data such as this in its assessment of national health service trusts. The NHS Trust Development Authority Accountability Framework, published earlier this month, sets out a number of NHS trust performance indicators which include staff turnover in the quality governance section. While the indicators differentiate between clinical and non-clinical staff, they do not differentiate between professions.
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John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what data he holds on the average tenure in managerial posts in individual NHS trusts. [153091]
Dr Poulter: The Department does not hold data on the tenure of national health service managers. The NHS Trust Development Authority will collate information from NHS trusts about staff turnover, as outlined in its Accountability Framework, published earlier this month. However, this does not distinguish between executive and non-executive positions.